Foreign Contract Law

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Pauliwalnuts

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My sister was on honeymoon in Cancun Mexico & while there herself & hubby signed up to what basically constitutes a timeshare agreement where they get 200 weeks at a chain of hotels that they can use any time going forward.

They were invited along to a presentation by the hotel staff where they were promised the sun, moon & stars & plied with drink. They were shown the sister hotel next door to where they were staying & offered an upgrade to that hotel for remainder of their stay if they signed up. This is what finally sold it to them as it was the best place they had ever seen.

Also they were given vouchers for 2 "free" weeks over the course of the next 3 years. Anyway to cut a long story short they went for it.

They had to pay an initial deposit of $5k & will have to pay something like a further $9k over the course of the next 2 years in monthly instalments.

They had a great honeymoon & loved the hotel they stayed in but they have had something of a change of heart about the whole thing since they have come home. Basically they kind of felt forced into it as they had to sign up on the day, & apparently these guys were making it impossible to get away.

Their first payment for this is due out in mid Jan & they asked me last night to look over the contracts they have signed & from what I can see they are watertight. I told them they should contact their solicitor to see what the consequences of cancelling their credit card would be so that they will not be debited this money. I thought I'd pose the question here as well as I know quite a few solicitors frequent AAM.

They don't mind the initial €5k they spent as they felt that was worth spending for what they got but they don't want to continue with the rest of it.

What are the likely consequences of them not fulfilling this contract since it is tied to Mexican law.

Is debt collectors the likely scenario, or a court action against them or something to that effect ? Basically what way does the law work around a contract that was signed in a country like Mexico for Irish citizens?

My advise to them was get out of it but they are not sure. Should they just put it down to a lesson learned & go ahead with paying ?

I am sceptical as I feel they would be throwing their money away.

Any opinions would be useful.
 
Is the contract under Mexican law? If so, they'll have to talk to an attorney in Mexico, which is a real hassle considering they are back here now... The fact that they are Irish citizens won't matter to the law to which the contract is subject.

A quick google brings [broken link removed] up - I have no idea who the chap is, but it may be worth contacting him.
 
I thought by now that the dangers of getting involved with time share vendors were fairly well known.

About a legal problem in mexico - most Irish lawyers find it difficult enough to keep up to date with Irish law. You need a lawyer practising in Mexico. Ask the Irish embassy or counsellor covering the area for recommendations.

good luck
 
Thanks for you answers guys. I think though ye are missing my main question, which is by choosing to ignore what they signed in Mexico what kind of trouble could they get into ? Does it feck up their credit rating or what happens. If it were as simple as being banned from Mexico for instance then I think they'd get over that.

If they ignore would it just all go away so to speak ?

I doubt it but that is what they are wondering.
 
They should explore options for dealing with the matter here via the credit card company. Can they dispute the transactions with their card provider? Can they just close the credit card account and walk away?
 
That right there is what they want to know. Can they just close their credit card account & pretend it never happened. I am not so sure it's as simple as that though. Would there be any consequences for them if they did that.
 
The whole point about advising them to go to a lawyer in Mexico is that the question cannot be answered by someone not au fait with Mexican contract law (assuming that's the law under which the contract is governed).
 
One relevant question that people here could answer is whether, if there is a breach of contract in a foreign jurisdiction and the plaintiff gets judgment, can the plaintiff enforce that judgment against an Irish resident? Then the answer is "yes" - there are procedural difficulties but it is possible.

Blurb from Dillon Eustace .
 
They might get some advice from - They should contact their credit card company and dispute the transaction asap.
 
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